In the distant reaches of the north an obscure and prehistoric bay hides two pointbreaks. They break opposite of each other, at the narrow mouth of the harbor. The island sitting at the center of the bay is only inhabited by bald eagles and grizzly bears. At times, the bay reaches depths of 720 feet, deep enough to allow whales to take residence.

[ The deeper parts of the bay cut steeply into the mountain range, resembling a fjord. ]

“There is a maximum tidal range of fifteen feet. With such a tremendous volume of water pouring in and out twice during a twenty-four-hour period, currents at the constricted entrance reach speeds of nearly fifteen miles per hour. Treacherous waves can form instantaneously on an ebb (outgoing) tide, particularly when an opposing wind blows…Inland from the coast the dark-green interior is virtually inaccessible.” – Fradkin

[ Access is less treacherous by float helicopter than by boat. ]

At slack tides the currents calm down and the entrance to the bay turns glassy calm. The region’s cobbled coast is known for punchy, peaky waves. Wildlife thrives here, but it is a difficult place for man to survive. The bay is surrounded on all sides by hundreds of miles of remote wilderness. Frequent gales, massive bears, and rogue currents make boat access a life-threatening prospect.

A gravel spit stretches 100 meters across the bay, never reaching higher than 12 feet above sea level. Across the mouth of the bay a more seasoned headland wraps stormy waves into a sheltered cove.

A clip from Taylor Steele’s “Castles In The Sky”. Dane Reynolds, Dan Malloy, and Timmy Curran discover a nordic point break near the Arctic Circle.

A bathymetric rendering of the Arctic Ocean floor, the principle region where arctic surf happens.

The cold regions of the planet are characterized by sharp-edged rocks and jagged ice.

This corner wave is hard to get to, and it rarely breaks.

Walrusses vie for space along the beach in order to get sun rays.

Ragged lines of whitewash arrive from a nearby storm along the coast of a barren arctic island.

The southern coast of New Zealand’s South Island. Only farm roads come near the sea. One reef in particular was 2 km from the closest farm road. Our van got stuck in a mud puddle. We hiked for 45 mins to check the break but found the wind to be onshore. Further investigation going south uncovered numerous hidden reefs and rivermouth breaks, many concealed by private farm land. Our team included Pete Devries, Jesse Hines, Mike Losness, and Chris Burkard.

Pete studied our road map. He considered the wind, swell direction, and tide, and proposed a new spot to check whenever conditions deteriorated at our current location. The coastline has innumerable turns and bends, all open to the southern swells. The possibilities for finding new setups seemed to never end. So we spent hours driving the highway, chasing the shifting wind patterns, hoping to find offshore conditions.

When the swell was maxing we found a stretch of coast at the end of the road where the waves broke out to sea. It’s difficult to say whether they had names. It’s difficult to say whether these breaks had ever been surfed. They looked lonely, threatening, and slightly mutated. Unsurfable? I couldn’t tell how big it was from so far away. No one was eager to venture out, or find out what might be lurking below. It was beginning to rain, so we climbed back into the van. Our diet during the first days of the trip consisted of granola bars and water.

The Baltic Sea has an average depth of 180 ft, and reaches 1506 ft at its deepest. The entire sea has been known to freeze over during record cold winters. With a surface area of over 145,000 square miles, the Baltic has enough fetch to send waves to the cobbled pointbreaks of Gotland.

The swedish island has a colorful surf community hardy enough to weather the bleakest winter ice breaks. Gotland is comprised of limestone and shale. The smooth coastal curves are often stagnant. They look as if they’re waiting to shape a solid groundswell into perfection. And occasionally the conditions come together just right.

These three photos belong to Jakob Wallin. His collection of images document the Baltic’s rare gems. It is difficult to judge how many pointbreaks are waiting to be discovered along Gotland’s castle-studded shores.

We arrived in New Zealand’s deep south in the middle of winter. Antarctic storms send swell from the higher latitudes towards South Island’s hidden reefs and coves. Days on end were spent waiting out rain and fog. The region is blanketed in forest. The breaks are difficult to reach. Farm roads are muddy. Following them can be treacherous.

Winds shifted frequently. The changing weather provided opportunities to explore into remote areas. The sun might come out briefly, but it would just as soon disappear behind a carpet of gray cloud. As soon as the wind direction changed it was time to look down the coast for another break that might be offshore.

The team included Pete Devries (pictured above), Mike Losness, Jesse Hines, and photographer Chris Burkard.

A vast mountainous terrain by the sea. Metallurgy, timberwork, and fishing. Snow-covered beaches and frozen rivers. Whisps of wind whip through barren branches.  The body of water is hemmed in by the Kamchatka Peninsula, the Kuril Islands, and Japan. There are a few communities in the area key to the region’s economy, but for the most part it’s an expanse of woods and continental uplift.

The best season for finding surf is in late fall. But you’ll find no surf shop here. You will need to bring your supplies with you from home: goggles, binoculars, tent, bear repellant, canteen, snow shoes, and cold water wax for the board. After that, it’s up to you to find your own peak. One piece of advice for the journey: never travel alone in winter, because you’ll need someone else to help build the fire.

Simon Schuetz has studied almost every book and website on surf spots. He has spent countless hours compiling data on wave frequency, quality, tide, and shape to create a world surf map. While evaluating each location and deciding which spots to include, he found that some coastlines have almost no surfing information. In this interview, Simon talks about the blank areas of the map.

Are there any regions with little information about waves, that might have potential for future discoveries?

When you take a look at the surtripmap you will notice some gaps like in Namibia or Angola. India and the Middle East also have very little discovered spots. And especially remote, cold regions have so much potential. Iceland, Russia, Japan, Norway, Canada, Patagonia… I could keep this list going.

There are many reasons why some of these coastlines are relatively unexplored. It is just extremely hard to get to remote spots in Russia or Iceland. And not only do you have to go there, but you also have to get lucky as many of these spots are extremely fickle and forecasts aren’t that reliable. The weather can change quickly. Also ‘artificial’ restrictions like military zones or dangerous countries like Yemen are a reason for unexplored coastlines. There are plenty of world-class waves out there waiting to be surfed for the very first time.

What’s your interest in discovering waves in the arctic, antarctic, and sub-antarctic?

I really enjoy driving along the coast looking for empty waves because of the adventure that comes with it. Also in my mind there is nothing more amazing than raw nature. Planet earth has so much to offer. I am sure every surfer can relate to that. Combine the two things, and you have the adventure of discovering great surf spots and the raw nature in those regions.

What’s ahead in mapping waves around the world? Are there any other map ideas that you have been thinking about?

All the research that went not only into the surf spots but also into all the illustrations really showed how many amazing places there are on our planet and that we are far from having it all captured. It is impossible to show every region with the detail it deserves on a worldmap, so the idea of the surftripmap really is to remind people to keep searching.

Check out the website, surftripmap.com for more info, or follow http://www.facebook.com/surftripmap.

A sheltered cove on the other side of the world.

Remote beach >.

Island landing strip in the French Antarctic.

Parting of the Red Sea creates biblical barrels.

Fridtjof Nansen, explorer of the Arctic. 1861-1930.

Coldwater surfing by Pete Devries. Video: Koreski/Chilton, full video.

Left-peeling wave wraps into mountainous cove in the Aleutians, as seen from a NASA satellite.

Iceland is home to countless reefs and point breaks. In the example above, a spit of land creates a rare a-frame point break wave.

This photograph shows a fjord and beach landscape characteristic of northern Iceland. Waves usually do not break along these mountainous headlands because the topography drastically transitions into deep water. Swells travel past them and break along the transitional sand banks of the beach instead.

The map shows a clearer image of the steep mountain landscapes bordering the sea.